By Gabriela Baczynska
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The top European Union court on Monday struck down more elements of Poland’s sweeping judicial overhaul for violating the bloc’s democracy tenets, the latest criticism of the ruling Law and Justice (PiS) party that faces a national election this autumn.
Poland, the largest ex-communist EU country, has lost its reputation as a poster child of democratic transition, as well as access to billions worth of EU funds in bitter rule of law battles with the liberal West since PiS came to power in 2015.
On Monday, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) said that publishing online declarations on judges’ membership in associations, non-profit foundations or political parties violated their right to privacy and could be used to sway them.
The Luxembourg-based court listed that among several elements of the PiS judicial overhaul that were damaging the independence of judges, and hence undermining the rule of law.
“The Polish justice reform of December 2019 infringes EU law,” the court said in a statement. “The value of the rule of law is an integral part of the very identity of the European Union.”
(Reporting by Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten)
